Vapor treatment hair curler

ABSTRACT

A heatable, vapor applying hair curler having a heat-storage body, a liquid reservoir surrounding the body and an outer casing having perforations therein which allow the vaporized liquid to be emitted from the reservoir when the body is heated.

UnitedStates Patent 1 I Madsen et al.

VAPOR TREATMENT HAIR CURLER Inventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

Curt Madsen, Kalundborg; Bent Georg Johansen, Store Fuglede; Lars Boesen, Kalundborg, all of Denmark Bristol-Myers Company, New York, i

Mar. 29, 1972 Foreign Application Priority Data June 30, 1971 Denmark "3237/71 u.s. Cl. 1312/3311, 219/222 rm. Cl. A45d 2/36 Field of Search 132/33 R, 11,118,

[ 1 Oct. 23, 1973 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Ackley 132/33 R Braunagel... 132/33 R Giacchero... 219/222 Hammerly 132/33 R MacDonald et a1. 132/33 R Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeill Attorney-David J. Mugford et al.

ABSTRACT 11 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 2914 I6 77 22 j 3 25 g V I 11 g o 12 I 5' (9 73 E 1 I5 6) 21 x Z o 70 26 o 28 I G) 37 I j o t (9 19 o 23 o 120 I G) l VAPOR TREATMENT HAIR CURLER BACKGROUND Various methods are known for supplying liquid or steam to the outer surface of a heat-accumulating hair curler. Thus, US. Pat. No. 3,480,019 discloses a hair curler, the plastic surface of which is made receivable to moisture supplied to the hair curler in a liquid or steam bath. Other devices involve hair curlers having surfaces formed with grooves or perforations so that the treating liquid may be retained on the curler in increased amounts and be exposed to more intense heat than the hair wound on the curler. The most recent known development of methods and curlers for liquid or steam treatment of hair utilizes a heat-accumulating or storage body which is surrounded by a casing of soft, liquid-absorbent material. The hair curler is heated, and liquid is subsequently supplied to its surface before a tress of hair is wound on the curler. The known curlers which allow the application of liquid or steam treatment fluid to the hair are generally single mode devices which can only be used either dry or Wet but not both in the same cycle. These devices have always involved the risk of the user contacting the treatment liquid or steam developed therefrom.

These drawbacks are to a substantial extent relieved by the hair curler constructed according to this invention. If the user desires a liquid treatment of the hair, the hair curler may, of course, be moistened on its outer side in known manner, but according to the invention, there is devised a novel hair curler which may further be used for steam treatment of hair without the user contacting the treatment liquid or the vapors generated from same.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to the invention, one or more reservoirs provided beneath the surface of the hair curler are filled with a treatment liquid, a tress of hair being subsequently wound on the curler. The liquid which is heated in the reservoirs by the heat-storage body is evaporated through perforations provided in the casing of the hair curler and acts upon the hair wound on the same.

The hair curler according to the invention comprises a heat storage body surrounded by a perforated casing which is provided with one or more filling inlets and one or more reservoir chambers between the heatstorage body and the casing.

The heat-storage body may be of any known type, for example, a body of solid plastic material formed with a cavity for receiving a heating device or the heatstorage body may also be formed as a closed container containing a heat-storage material in the formof a solid substance or mixture which is caused to melt wholly or partly upon the heating of the hair curler.

The casing of the hair curler generally comprises one or more layers and may take a large variety of known forms. Thus, it may be provided with projections for seizing and guiding the hair wound on the curler, and it may also be provided with devices to indicate when the curler is ready for use. It is characteristic of this invention that the casing which surrounds. the heatstorage body has a plurality of perforations. These perforations may take many forms, but preferably they are of such small size that the treatment liquid owing to the boundary surface tension between the liquid and the .2 material of the casing is unable to pass through the perforations in liquid state but can only do so in vapor form. The casing is furthermore at one or more places provided with inlets through which treatment liquid may be filled into the hair curler. In a convenient embodiment a single inlet is provided at one end of the curler. If the casing consists of a single layer, it is conveniently made of thermoplastic. If the casing consists of several layers, the layer adjacent the heat-storage body is preferably made of a thermoplastic material, and the outer layer or layers may then be formed as soft liquid-absorbent layers made, for example, of cellulose fibers that are reinforced, if necessary.

If the casing consists of several layers, the innermost layer may have larger perforations, whereas the outer layer or layers have perforations which may be provided by the natural porosity of the materials.

An outer layer may also consist of a pivotable cylindrical casing with perforations provided at locations corresponding to those of the inner casing. When treatment liquid is to be filled into the hair curler, the perforations of the two layers of the casing are staggered in relation to one another so that the liquid is enclosed. When a tress of hair has been wound on the curler, the two layers of the casing are turned in relation to each other about the axis of the hair curler so that the perforations are caused to register by which the vapor from the treatment liquid may act on the hair wound on the curler. I

A preferred embodiment of the hair curler according to the invention comprises a heat-storage body composed of two metal tubes joined so as to form a closed container with an inner sealed space which is partly filled with a heat-storage material having great heat of fusion and a suitable melting point. The heat-storage body is formed with an outwardly open cavity to receive a heating device.

In the preferred embodiment of the hair curler, the casing is made of thermoplastic and consists of a single layer. The casing is formed as a cylinder open at one end, and its inner walls are provided with ribs or fillets resting against the outer side of the heat-storage body. Near the opening of the cylinder a rib extending circularly along the inner wall of the cylinder serves to limit the chamber. The walls of the cylinder are provided with frusto-conical perforations having their largest diameter adjacent to the outer side of the casing which is further provided with outwardly directed conical or spade-formed guiding and gripping means.

The closed end of the cylindrical casing consists of an inwardly directed concial surface, from the top of which a filling opening leads to the chamber between the heat-storage body and the casing of the curler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION These and other preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the hair curler according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view with a partial longitudinal section of the hair curler according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the hair curler shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of an alternate embodiment of the hair curler according to the invention.

FIG. 5 showsa segmental view with a partial longitudinal sectionof an alternative embodiment of the hair curler according to the invention.

The hair curler comprises a cylindrical heatstorage body 11 surrounded by a cylindrical casing 12 so as to form reservoir chambers 13 between the heat storage body 11 and the casing 12. The casing 12 is provided at a closed end thereof with a filling inlet 14 through which the reservoir chamber 13 may be filled with treatment liquid.

In a preferred embodiment the heat-accumulating body 11 comprises an inner tube 15 closed by'means of a bottom plate 16 at one end. The inner tube 15 provides space in its interior cavity 17 for receiving a heating member of device (not shown), which may be introduced through the open end 18 of the casing 12.

Towards the open end 18 of the curler, the inner tube 15 is widened into a conical surface 19 and at the open end 18 of the hair curler, the inner tube 15 is provided with a cylindrical section 20 which fits tightly to the outer tube 21 forming a closed receptacle for the heataccumulating body 11. One end of the tube 21 is closed by means of a bottom plate 22. At the open end 18' of the hair curler, the assembly between the inner tube 15 and the outer tube 21 is secured by means of a head 23 provided in the outer tube 21 and a section 24 of the outer tube 21 bent over the edge of the inner tube 15. As a result there is provided a heat storage chamber 25 which is partly filled with a heat storage material 26.

The heat storage body 11 is surrounded by casing 12 which may consist of one layer as indicated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The casing 12 may also consist of several layers as indicated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. Between the heat storage body 11 and the casing 12 are provided one or more reservoir chambers 13 as the casing 12 on its inner cylindrical surface may have fillets 27 resting against the outer side of the heat-storage body 11. The casing 12 may further be provided with gripping and guiding means 28 on its outer side as indicated in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. At the closed end of the hair curler 10, the casing 12 has a filling inlet 14 which may be arranged in connection with a frusto-conical surface 29 directed inwardly (FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) or outwardly (FIG. 5). At the open end 18 of the hair curler, the easing 12 may have an inwardly bent section 30 by which the heat-storage body 11 is retained in the casing 12 and which defines the reservoir chamber 13. The cylindrical wall of the casing 12 has a plurality of perforations or apertures 31 through which vapor may escape from the storing chamber 13 to the hair wound on the outer surface of the curler (not shown).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the apertures 31 are preferably provided with frustoconical configurations with the larger diameter ends positioned on the outer surface of the casing, and the apertures 31 have dimensions to prevent liquid from passing therethrough while permitting vapor to be emitted therethrough.

If the casing 12 consists of several layers, an outer layer may consist of a soft porous layer 32, the perforations of which are constitutedby the natural porosities (FIG. 5). Another form of an outer layer of the casing 12 may consist of a cylinder or outer casing member 33 with perforations 34therein, mounted pivotally around 'an inner casing, member 35 FIG. 4. As indicated in FIG. 4 perforations 36 of the inner casing member are staggered in relation to the perforations 34 of the outer casing member, and in this position treatment liquid may be filled into the reservoir chamber 13 of the hair curler through filling inlets 14. When a tress of hair has been wound' on the curler 10, the user may turn the inner part of-thecurler, consisting of the heat-storage body 11 and the inner casing member, so that the perforations 31 of the inner and the outer casing member are caused to register with one another, and vapor from the treatment liquid in the reservoir chamber 13 may then enter the hair wound on the curler.

It will be appreciated that details described in the specification and shown in the drawings may be varied in many ways without falling outside the scope of the invention which is only defined by the claims.

We claim:

l. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler comprising a heat storage body;

a tubular casing surrounding said heat storage body and spaced therefrom to define a reservoir chamber the rebetween disposed in heat transfer relation with said heat storage body and adapted to be filled with a liquid to be vaporized, said casing having perforation means therein communicating with said reservoir chamber for emitting vaporized liquid from said reservoir chamber; and

inlet means communicating with said reservoir chamber to permit said reservoir chamber to be filled with a liquid to be vaporized.

2. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said perforation means includes a plurality of small apertures in said casing which communicate directly with said reservoir chamber and are sized to allow only vapor and not liquid to be emitted therethrough.

3. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said casing includes an outer member and an inner member disposed in relative rotatable engagement, and said perforation means includes a first plurality of apertures in said outer member and a second plurality of apertures in said inner member, said outer and inner members being rotatable to register said first plurality of apertures with said second plurality of apertures in order-to create passages in direct communication with said reservoir chamber to allow the emission of vapor therefrom.

4. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said heat storage body includes a container defining a wall of said reservoir chamber, a heat storage substance disposed in said container, and means associated with said container for receiving heat from an external source for storage by said heat storage substance.

5. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said heat storage body includes a container having an inner tubular wall defining a cavity for receiving an external heating device and an outer tubular wall, said inner and outer tubular walls defining an annular heat storage chamber, and a heat storage substance disposed in said annular heat storage chamber, said casing includes a cylindrical wall'surrounding said outer tubular wall to define said reservoir chamber with an annular configuration, and said perforation means includes a plurality of apertures in said cylindrical wall having dimensions to prevent liquid from passing therethrough but topermit vapor to be emitted therethrough.

6. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 4 wherein said container includes a cylindrical enclosure having a centrally located cavity for receiving a probe which is heated by an electrical resistance heater, said heat storage substance being wax and surrounding said cavity in a direct heat transfer relation.

7. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 5 wherein said casing has a closed end wall and said inlet means includes an inlet opening in said closed end wall.

8. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 7 wherein said inlet opening is centrally disposed in said closed end wall and has a frusto-conical configuration.

9. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 5 wherein said apertures in said cylindrical walls have frusto-conical configurations with the larger diameter end on the outside of said cylindrical wall.

10. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler comprising a cylindrical heat storage container filled with a heat storage substance, said container having a centrally disposed cavity therein for receiving a heating member and said heat storage substance surrounding said cavity in direct heat transfer relation;

a cylindrical casing surrounding said container having an outer surface suitable for winding hair thereon and an open end aligned with said cavity to permit'a heating member to be removably re ceived in said cavity, said casing being spaced from said container to define a reservoir chamber therebetween adapted to be filled with a liquid to be vaporized and said casing having a plurality of apertures therein communicating between said reservoir chamber and said outer surface and having dimensions to prevent liquid from passing therethrough but to permit vapor to be emitted therethrough; and

inlet means communicating with said reservoir chamber for filling said reservoir chamber with a liquid to be vaporized from the exterior of said hair curler.

11. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 10 wherein said casing has a closed end and said inlet means includes a central opening in said closed end having a frustoconical configuration. 

1. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler comprising a heat storage body; a tubular casing surrounding said heat storage body and spaced therefrom to define a reservoir chamber therebetween disposed in heat transfer relation with said heat storage body and adapted to be filled with a liquid to be vaporized, said casing having perforation means therein communicating with said reservoir chamber for emitting vaporized liquid from said reservoir chamber; and inlet means communicating with said reservoir chamber to permit said reservoir chamber to be filled with a liquid to be vaporized.
 2. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said perforation means includes a plurality of small apertures in said casing which communicate directly with said reservoir chamber and are sized to allow only vapor and not liquid to be emitted therethrough.
 3. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said casing includes an outer member and an inner member disposed in relative rotatable engagement, and said perforation means includes a first plurality of apertures in said outer member and a second plurality of apertures in said inner member, said outer and inner members being rotatable to register said first plurality of apertures with said second plurality of apertures in order to create passages in direct communication with said reservoir chamber to allow the emission of vapor therefrom.
 4. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said heat storage body includes a container defining a wall of said reservoir chamber, a heat storage substance disposed in said container, and means associated with said container for receiving heat from an external source for storage by said heat storage substance.
 5. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 1 wherein said heat storage body includes a container having an inner tubular wall defining a cavity for receiving an external heating device and an outer tubular wall, said inner and outer tubular walls defining an annular heat storage chamber, and a heat storage substance disposed in said annular heat storage chamber, said casing includes a cylindrical wall surrounding said outer tubular wall to define said reservoir chamber with an annular configuration, and said perforation means includes a plurality of apertures in said cylindrical wall having dimensions to prevent liquid from passing therethrough but to permit vapor to be emitted therethrough.
 6. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 4 wherein said container includes a cylindrical enclosure having a centrally located cavity for receiving a probe which is heated by an electrical resistance heater, said heat storage substance being wax and surrounding said cavity in a direct heat transfer relation.
 7. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 5 wherein said casing has a closed end wall and said inlet means includes an inlet opening in said closed end wall.
 8. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 7 wherein said inlet opening is centrally disposed in said closed end wall and has a frusto-conical configuration.
 9. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 5 wherein said apertures in said cylindrical walls have frusto-conical configurations with the larger diameter end on the outside of said cylindrical wall.
 10. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler comprising a cylindrical heat storage container filled with a heat storage substance, said container having a centrally disposed cavity therein for receiving a heating member and said heat storage substance surrounding said cavity in direct heat transfer relation; a cylindrical casing surrounding said container having an outer surface suitable for winding hair thereon and an open end aligned with said cavity to permit a heating member to be removably received in said cavity, said casing being spaced from said container to define a reservoir chamber therebetween adapted to be filled wIth a liquid to be vaporized and said casing having a plurality of apertures therein communicating between said reservoir chamber and said outer surface and having dimensions to prevent liquid from passing therethrough but to permit vapor to be emitted therethrough; and inlet means communicating with said reservoir chamber for filling said reservoir chamber with a liquid to be vaporized from the exterior of said hair curler.
 11. A heatable, vapor applying hair curler as described in claim 10 wherein said casing has a closed end and said inlet means includes a central opening in said closed end having a frustoconical configuration. 